Interconnected Oneshots
by sunshinetuna1
Summary: A series of oneshots that are all interconnected to the story before it. I have a few stories to add but will always take requests. Thanks a million for reading...
1. Home Alone

This is my first fanfiction so please be kind.

These will be a series of one shots based on the story prior to it. I have 5 stories already in mind, and will take suggestions.

Thanks ever so much and have a great day!

**Home Alone**

It had been a long time since Stef and Lena had had the house to themselves for a full night. Mike was having a guys night which included a sleepover with Brandon, Jesus and Jude. Callie and Mariana were at an overnight dance-a-thon at school.

It had been so long that Lena was not sure what to do. "This house is too quiet , I don't like it" she said. Out of the blue she hears her wedding song playing so she heads down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs she sees Stef who hands her a glass of wine.

"Listen, do you hear that?" Stef said as she grinned. Lena nodded knowing that Stefs increasing grin indicated her happiness with their alone time. Stef asked Lena to dance and they are instantly brought back to the wonder and excitement that was their wedding day.

After dancing they pulled out and old photo album and started to reminisce over the wine they had just poured. The laughter and the tears at seeing the photos reminded them that they need a new family portrait sometime soon. Stef looked at pictures of her fishing with her dad, and Lena looked at a picture taken just after she wandered off at a store and thought she got lost in a jungle. They were so glad they had pulled out the album, they both needed the memories back again, if only for a brief moment.

A bottle of wine later, Stef and Lena tipsily climbed the stairs and headed to bed. When laying in bed, Stef and Lena realized that they couldn't sleep not having any kids in the house. They knew they couldn't call the kids, it was far too late, so they did the next best thing, they went around and gathered a pillow from the beds of each of their children and put them all around them on the big bed.

Stef and Lena fell asleep knowing that they would get to see their babies again in less than 12 hours.


	2. Family Portrait

"How often do they do this and why do they insist on me wearing a dress?" a frustrated Callie asked Mariana. Her search through the closet for an appropriate dress is not going well at all.

Mariana told Callie that it had been years since they had a formal portrait and that Moms always thought it was cute to wear the same color in the picture.

"Why don't you just borrow one of my dresses? It's not like you have a whole lot of purple clothes at your disposal" Mariana told Callie as she shows her older sister the options. Callie studies the dresses and settles on the one she believes to be the best despite the fact that it's shorter then Callie is used to and frankly far too purple for her personal tastes.

The family gathers in the backyard as Stef is getting the camera set up. It dawns on Stef that maybe Callie should be the one to take the picture given her flare for photography.

"Here Callie, you take over." Stef says to Callie as she walks towards the rest of her family. Callie spends the next several minutes making sure everyone is lined up perfectly and smiling. Just as the picture is perfect she jumps in and the camera flashes.

A few days later when Stef and Lena pick up the picture from the printer they can't help but beam from ear to ear. This year's portrait is the best ever and Callie has a big part in that.


	3. Mama and Callie day

Mama and Callie Day

"Ready Cal?" Lena asked as the put on her jacket. "As ready as I'm going to be. Listen Mama, we don't have to do this, I'm pretty happy with the clothes I have" a sullen Callie answered.

"Look you are doing this with Mama today and I don't want to hear any, but I don't want to or any other not so good news" Stef said firmly. "Shopping with Mama is a privilege. Besides you should feel extra special, it's not often that you and Mama get to spend the day as just the two of you". Stef moved from the kitchen table where she was finishing her breakfast to the front door to give both her wife and daughter a kiss before going.

Lena and Callie got into the car and Callie turned on the radio. She knows that Lena will want to talk while they shop but if she puts the music on fast enough, maybe she can hold it off until they get to the mall.

Once they arrive at the mall Lena lays down the ground rules which Callie begrudgingly abides by. They enter the mall and find that it is crazy busy. Callie has never been a fan of large crowds and can feel herself start to panic. She grabs Lenas hand hoping that will help settle her a little. Feeling her daughters hand in hers, Lena has Callie take a few deep breaths and together, slowly, they start towards the first store.

Callie really didn't want to look in the store, she was too worked up. It was more than that though; it was the kind of store that Mariana would love. Not really Callies style at all. As Callie was getting ready to leave the store Lena pulled a light blue dress from a rack and showed Callie. Callie tried it on (one of the ground rules was to try on everything that she was asked to) and to her shock not only did it look good on her, she loved the color. She looked in the mirror and started to realize that maybe Lena had good taste in clothes and it could be fun.

And so it went on for about 10 more stores until both mother and daughter were exhausted. After a snack in the food court the two went home, bags in hand, laughing and content as could be.


	4. Oops

They are two people. Two people with five kids. Two people with five kids that they didn't want to let down. Sadly on this occasion that's exactly what happened.

The kids knew the process to make sure that they had parents at one of their events. Each of them did exactly what they were supposed to. They each even reminded one or both of their moms.

As Vice Principal at Anchor Beach Lena often knew about school events well in advance and could plan schedules accordingly.

The kids went to school this one particular morning all in good moods. Callie was in an especially good mood having spent some alone time with Lena the day before. The kids ate lunch together that day knowing they might not see each other that evening at dinner.

Stef had gotten off work early so she could be there to watch as Mariana and the dance team performed at a dance day at City Hall. Lena went to an after school art show that had pieces by both Jude (a lovely sculpture) and Callie (photos). After beaming with pride at the work her son and daughter had done, she kissed them goodbye (they had to stay a few more hours until the end of the show), got in her car and raced across town. She got there just in time to see Jesus win his wrestling match against the wrestling team from Mission Bay High School.

In her haste to get to Jesus, Lena hadn't had the time to stop and check her phone. She had decided that while Jesus was getting changed, she would check her messages. Much to her dismay she had three missed calls and messages from Brandon and three from Stef asking where she was. She immediately called Brandon and got no answer. When she called Stef she realized that they had missed Brandons first major performance since injuring his hand. Marianas dance day event was running late and she hadn't even performed yet, so Stef couldn't leave. It didn't really matter anyway, Stef thought Lena was going and Lena thought Stef was going. Lena and Jesus raced to the concert hall hoping she could at least pick him up. Just as they arrived at the concert hall Brandon called to say that he had just arrived at home.

After all of the kids events were done and the kids were home, Lena and Stef headed home knowing the dropped the ball, had a lot of apologizing and explaining to do with Brandon and vowed it would never happen again.


	5. Friday Dinner

Every Friday Stef and Lena let a different family member pick the dinner food for that day. This week was Lenas turn but given the fact that they had let Brandon down Lena let Brandon have her pick for this week.

Brandon knew the rules, it had to be something mom could pick up on her way home or something that could be delivered. It also had to be something they hadn't had the week before and it couldn't be too expensive.

Brandon spent his whole day thinking about dinner. By three o'clock he knew what he wanted. He got out his phone and messaged Mariana to ask her to bring some blankets to the backyard and lay them out picnic style. He then messaged his mom to ask if she could pick up some Moroccan food on her way home. Brandon told Stef that he would email her a list of the foods to pick up since the family had never had Moroccan food before. He was sure the family would be surprised at his choice, but knew that most of the family (except for the currently vegetarian Mariana) were pretty adventurous when it came to food.

When Brandon got home, he started memorizing the names and ingredients of the foods so that he could tell the family.

When the family sat out back on the blankets with the food in front of them, there was an initial pause. Brandon was the first to make himself a plate and encouraged his brothers and sisters to do the same. The whole family loved the food and couldn't stop raving about it for the next few hours.

After dinner Brandon sat on a blanket in the backyard thinking about how his Moroccan gamble had paid off.


	6. Mariana Saves The Day

Mariana often felt like she was seen as being helpless within her family. She knew she didn't like that feeling and was looking for a chance to change it.

She got the opportunity to change that feeling the morning after Brandons Moroccan food "experiment". The family had eaten later than usual and the food that Mariana ate did taste really good.

Mariana, ever the light sleeper, was woken up when Callie accidentally slammed the door as she sprinted to the bathroom. Callie, who was still half asleep, didn't know that she would have to wait in line to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. Mariana got up to scold her sister for waking her up, when she saw that her whole family was sick. They all looked a sickly shade of green. Mariana had come to the realization that if her whole family was sick it must be food poisoning. Why else would six people be awake, looking sick and complaining of stomach pains at that time of night. Mariana didn't know which of the foods had caused the issue, but knew it had to be one of the meats. This was one time she was glad that she was a vegetarian.

Without thinking Mariana sprang into action. She took each of her family members back to their beds and put garbage bins on the floor beside them in the hopes that there wouldn't be a six body pile up in front of the bathroom. She got her school bag, took out her school items and filled it with bottles of water, crackers, some Advil and a thermometer (just in case).

She went around to visit each of her siblings and moms delivering water and crackers to them, rubbing their backs as they got sick and making about a million trips to the backyard to hose out the garbage bins.

As the day wore on and the family slowly started to feel better, they all thanked Mariana for being there when they needed her the most. She made a light dinner for the family and did the dishes as the rest of the family drifted off to sleep knowing that tomorrow would be better and had it not been for Mariana, today could have been a lot worse.


	7. All For One

Mariana had walked home from school after dance team practice and dropped her backpack by the door and headed right upstairs.

She got into her room and slammed the door shut behind her. She walked over to her bed and flopped down on top of it and let out a scream into her pillow. She was having a HORRIBLE day and hadn't realized that Callie was in the room with her.

Callie knew it was odd for Mariana to be in such a bad mood, so she walked over to her sisters bed, sat on the edge and put he hand on Marianas leg. She wanted to let her sister know that she was here, but also knew that sometimes people just need space. Once Mariana felt Callie's hand on her leg, she sat up and started slowly telling Callie what had happened.

Before Mariana could get in any words she started crying. Not just a few tears but sobbing. She collapsed into Callie's lap and Callie just sat there stroking her hair until she fell asleep.

Lena called the girls for dinner and when they didn't answer she sent Stef up to rush them down. Stef got up to the room and was puzzled by what she saw. Stef asked Callie "What happened here?" Callie just shrugged and said she didn't know. She just knew that Mariana was sleeping. Stef and Callie decided to let Mariana sleep and headed down for dinner.

After dinner, Callie went back up to her room, quietly, so as to not wake a sleeping Mariana. What she found when she got in was not what she had expected. She found her younger sister ripping up all of the pictures that she had from dance team. Mariana still didn't want to talk, so Callie didn't press it but told her sister that she was there no matter what, even in the middle of the night.

The next morning Mariana knew that she had to go to school. She had spent half the night trying to figure out how she could fake sick for the day. Then she remembered that she had a major exam in Timothy's class and she just couldn't miss it. She got to school and made it all the way to lunch without issue. At lunch she spent some time trying to find a sibling to sit with since she couldn't sit with "them". Jesus noticed her wandering and offered to let him sit with her. He asked her "why aren't you sitting with the dance team? You always sit with them". Mariana had decided that she didn't want to be so angry any more, and told Jesus that she had been kicked off the dance team once they found out that Lena was no longer the vice principal. The girls on the team had always assumed that having Mariana on the team would look good to Lena and they would get special treatment and the fact that Lena was gone meant the team didn't need or want Mariana anymore. They had used her.

This information had angered Jesus to no end. As he was about to get up and go confront the team when the lunch bell rang. Mariana telling Jesus her problem made her feel a little better but it had made Jesus feel worse. He had spent the rest of the afternoon trying to figure out how to get back at the team. Jesus, Brandon and Jude had decided to walk home together that day and he told them what had happened. The boys had decided that any team that didn't want Mariana didn't need the rest of the family. Brandon decided that he would just stop tutoring Kaitlyn, he was only doing it as a favor to Mariana anyway. Jesus was in a bit of a harder problem, he had been wanting to break up with Hayley for a while and this was one more reason but he knew that he had to do it gently. He was working on that. Jude decided that no one messed with his big sister and got away with it. So on their next practice, he borrowed the stereo from the AV room before practice so they couldn't use it. While he knew it was only a small act of rebellion and it likely wouldn't affect the team in the long run, even for a brief moment it would tick them off and that would make his day.

Callie who had a locker next to one of the dance team members, decided that she would ask that member why they got rid of Mariana until they took her back onto the team and apologized.

At the end of that week, her siblings plans had worked and Mariana had been asked back on the team. She decided not to go back to the team but was glad knowing that this time it was on her terms and not theirs. She was also so incredibly proud to be a Foster knowing that her siblings had her back no matter what.


	8. That Guy

Chapter 8: That Guy

Jesus woke up this morning determined to break up with Hayley. He was dreading it but he knew the longer he put it off the harder it was going to be.

He called Hayley and asked her to come over to the house. He wanted to be somewhere safe that he could escape to if he needed it.

In typical Hayley style, she showed up twenty minutes late, but she did show up. Jesus stepped out onto the front porch and started to talk to Hayley. He had a speech rehearsed but in this moment he was nervous and had all but forgotten the speech.

He took a deep breath and told Hayley that what she and the other girls did to Mariana by kicking her off the dance team wasn't cool. Hayley tried to redeem herself by blaming the act on Kaitlyn but Jesus didn't really care. If Hayley really wanted Mariana on the team she would have done something about it. He continued more by reciting parts of his speech that he did remember.

"Hayley, I want you to know that I have enjoyed most of our time together. We had some good times, however I think that your acts recently, your jealousy towards me and your inability to let me have some independent times have shown me the real you. The real you that is very mean and vindictive. I can't be with a girl like that anymore. I think we should break up. It has nothing to do with anyone elses decision I have come to this idea on my own.I would like it if you would leave my house now and leave my sister and family alone."

Hayley tried to talk back but Jesus just turned his back and walked into the house, closing the door on Hayley.

Now Jesus had an even harder issue to tackle. In the heat of love he got tattooed. He called his moms into the living room and slowly lifted his shirt to show off his tattoo. He hadn't said a word, just let his actions speak the words he couldn't.

Stef was rightly ticked off and Lena was disappointed and a little saddened. Stef immediately and loudly questioned him. "What would possess you to get any kind of tattoo let alone one with a girls name? A girl who you just broke up with" Jesus hung his head, he really didn't know what he was thinking when he got the tattoo. He always laughed at those guys that did the same thing he just did. He was so ashamed of himself. Stef told him he would be punished but that she and Lena need to talk and he would know his punishment in the morning.

-The next morning-

Jesus woke up the next morning, took a shower and went down for breakfast. After breakfast he stayed behind and asked his moms for his punishment.

Lena sat him down and said "We understand that sometimes people do crazy things when they are in love, but a tattoo is just stupid. You are not stupid, but this action was. Mom and I discussed it and have decided that it's your body and you will have to deal with the reminder every day. If you want to get it removed we will support it but we will not pay for it." She went on to say "now as for your punishment, Mom and I want you to know that you aren't in trouble that you made a bad choice, you are in trouble for lying about your age, last we checked you have to be 18, not asking permission and for hiding it from us for this long. So you are grounded. You go to school, wrestling and home for 1 month. You help when we ask and if you have a bad attitude we will add to your time."

They left Jesus in the kitchen to think about what had just happened when Stef turned around. She smiled at her middle son and hugged him and just giggled about how he had become that guy. Jesus joined her in the giggle. He couldn't believe he had become that guy too.


	9. Not Exactly As Planned

It was Sunday morning and Stef woke up early, excited to do nothing all day. She had hoped that she could convince Lena to allow the already 2 weeks grounded Jesus a stay in his sentence. She really just wanted to be with Lena all day. She was willing to give the kids money so that they would spend the day out of the house.

Stef grabbed a book and went back into bed and started reading. She had gotten through about 4 chapters in the book before she heard the kids get up. Once she smelled bacon she headed to the kitchen to greet her babies. Stef grabbed some bacon and checked in with her kids to see what plans they all had. In the back of Stef's mind she was hoping that Lena would be down so that they could talk about Jesus's grounding. Once she heard all of her kids plans and Lena still wasn't up, she went back upstairs to check on her wife. Stef expected to hear either the sound of the shower or the blow dryer. What she heard was the sound of her wife sneezing and coughing.

Stef walked over to the bed and gently put the back of her hand onto her wife forehead. She knew what she was going to find but needed to be sure. Stef kissed her sleeping wife's cheek and headed back downstairs. She told the kids that Mama is sick and she gave Brandon some money and her car keys and told the kids not to be home until dinner. She had decided that just for today Jesus was not grounded, well he was, but he was grounded to Brandon. So where Brandon went his brother went as well.

Stef made Lena a tea and added some honey, she grabbed some tissues, a plastic bag and some vaporub and headed upstairs back to her sick wife. She was shocked to see Lena awake. She thought her wife would sleep most of the day. She put all the items she had brought upstairs and went to sit beside her wife on the bed. Lena looked awful, she was pale, her nose was red and she was sweating a lot. Stef asked Lena "hi love, how are you feeling?" Stef was not surprised with Lenas answer "I feel tick and I'b all congested" (I feel sick and I'm all congested). Stef smiled at her wife who was having trouble speaking properly because of her cold.

Lena asked Stef about the kids, and Stef said that she sent them away for the day. Lena was very happy about that, she would have some quiet. Stef then went on to tell Lena about how much she had wanted to spend the day with Lena and how she had bought all the fixings for a backyard picnic.

Lena smiled at her wife and apologized for not being up to having a picnic. Stef just smiled at her wife and said "Love, from what I can see we are spending time together just maybe not how I planned."

Stef and Lena stayed in their room all day, Stef being a dutiful nurse maid took care of her wife for the day. The bliss that Stef had gotten from cuddling with her wife all day was worth it. Even if Lena was cycling between sweating and shivering.

They were only brought out of their cuddling when the kids got home. The kids brought pizza home with them but tried to be as quiet as possible. Stef checked in with her kids and told them she wanted to hear all about their day out, but she wants to hear about it tomorrow. She grabbed a few slices of pizza and headed back up to her sleeping wife. Once Stef got herself settled she fell asleep glad that she was there to take care of her wife.


	10. 16 hours

Stef was exhausted. Between taking care of sick Lena, working double shifts that seemed to have her doing more arrests then usual and being a mom and dealing with a major argument that Jesus and Brandon seemed to be having recently, she was just fried.

She walked in the door and mumbled something to her family that no one could make out. Lena looked at her wife and could just tell that Stef was done. Lena followed her wife upstairs and suggested her wife get changed and take a hot shower, have dinner and then head to bed. Stef was so tired she couldn't comprehend anything that Lena was saying to her. She just nodded. Lena gave her wife a quick shoulder massage and then left Stef alone to get ready for dinner.

Lena had asked Jude to set the table and had gotten a beer out for Stef as a treat. Lena and the kids sat down and waited for Stef to come down. After a few minutes, she told the kids to eat and went up to check on her lovely wife. She opened their bedroom door slowly and couldn't help but smile when she saw her wife asleep in her uniform.

Lena walked over to her wife took off her shoes, removed her gun and put it into the safe and put a blanket over her. She was determined to let her wife sleep as long as she needed to recharge her batteries.

The rest of the night went off as normal and Lena finally joined her wife in bed.

-The next morning-

Lena woke up and noticed that Stef was still sleeping in her uniform just as she had left her the night before. Lena decided to take the day off. Her wife wasn't sick but she needed to take care of her. Lena made Stef's favorite coffee and made some lunch, (Stef slept through breakfast) put it on a tray and took it upstairs. The coffee worked to rouse her wife from her slumber. Stef woke up embarrassed. She couldn't believe that she hadn't changed and hadn't even put herself to bed. Lena just smiled at her wife and went to draw her a bath.

Lena was taking care of some paperwork when Stef came down to join her. The couple were reading the newspaper when Stef got a call from Captain Roberts looking to see if she could work that night. Before Stef could say anything Lena spoke up. "With all due respect Captain, Stef slept for 16 hours between last night and this morning and she is still yawning as she sits here with me. I really don't think that she should be coming in tonight as she may just fall asleep on you." Captain Roberts hadn't realized how tired Stef really was and told her to have a good night.

Stef just smiled at her wife, and gave her kiss as a way of thanking her for having Stef's back.


	11. I'm Not Him

At Anchor Beach the last name Foster means something. Almost everywhere Jesus went in school he was someone else. He was Lenas son when he was in trouble in school, he was Brandons younger brother in most of his classes and Mariana's and Jude's older brother among the younger students.

Most days he was used to it but this day in particular he was ticked off by it. He had math class first thing in the morning. He had gotten the results of a test from a few days ago and hadn't done very well. The test had his grade circled with a note from the teacher that read "maybe you should see Mariana for some tutoring". He was not Mariana if he needed help he would go to his Mama.

In history he walked in, sat down with this group and started working on his group project. The teacher was wandering around the room when she stopped to see how Jesus group was doing. His teacher expressed enthusiasm in the project hoping that it would live up to the standard set by Brandons group the year before.

The rest of his classes had some reference to Brandon in some way. Well all his classes except for P.E. In P.E. being Jesus was more then enough. P.E. was the only place that he felt comfortable all day.

Lunch had also sucked. He somehow managed to grab Brandon's lunch on the way out of the house. Jesus was mad. Brandon had ham and Jesus had been looking forward to a nice turkey sandwich.

By the time he got home, he was ready to head out to the garage and just work out and get away from everyone. He had just started to work out when he realized that Brandon had changed all the weights. He was so mad.

He went upstairs to see if he could talk to his Mama to try and calm down a bit. She did her best to calm him but accidentally said "when Brandon gets angry he works through it with his music." Once Lena said that she tried to back track but it was too late.

When Stef walked in Jesus and Brandon were arguing about how Jesus kept getting compared to Brandon all day. Lena stepped in and got both boys out of each others space. She talked to Brandon first to give Jesus a chance to calm down.

After getting Stef settled, she went and talked to Jesus. The first words out of his mouth were"I'm not him. Why do people always compare me with him. I'm so tired of hearing Brandon this and Brandon that." Why can't people be like Jesus this and Jesus that?" Lena just looked at her son and smiled. She said "Jesus is smart and funny and strong and has a soft heart and I can't imagine this family without him" "I'm sorry I suggested that you calm yourself the same way Brandon does. You are not Brandon. You know how to calm yourself. You do you." and she leaned over and kissed her son on the cheek and told him that he ever felt that he was being compared to Brandon again to get her and she would tell him otherwise.


	12. Can I Have a Hug?

Mariana felt off. She didn't feel sick, she wasn't sad or angry, hurt or hungry, bored or tired but yet all day long something just didn't feel right.

She spent the day trying to shake the feeling. At breakfast she poured herself a bowl of her favorite cereal and was able to enjoy it while the rest of the family buzzed with their usual morning chaos. She went to school and got a test back in first period and was presently surprised at the grade she got. In her second class she aced the pop quiz and in her next two morning classes she was doing well. At lunch she found a nice shady tree to sit under and enjoy her lunch. She was enjoying the warmth of the day and the perfect breeze. Mostly she was enjoying the solitude, a luxury she didn't often get in a house full of people. Her lunch was great and she was happy to see the note from her Mama. It said Mari, I love you. Have a fantastic day. Her afternoon classes went as well as her morning classes. Any other day Mariana would have considered this day a win but not today.

Despite all that was good at school she still felt off. So at home she got through her homework quickly and then laid on her bed listening to music. Music sometimes perked her up if she was feeling down. She figured it was worth a shot today. She was lost in the music when Stef came to get her for dinner. Stef was a bit concerned about her daughter. She and Lena had noticed that something didn't seem right with their youngest daughter, So Stef decided that maybe they needed to talk. After sending Callie down to dinner Stef sat on Marianas bed and waited for the girl to speak.

Mariana told her mother how she was feeling and what had happened during the day. Stef was as perplexed as to why Mariana felt the way she did as Mariana herself was. Stef thought that maybe dinner would make Mariana feel less off. Lena had made homemade macaroni and cheese, which is Marianas favorite. After dinner Mariana and Jude were loading the dishwasher when Stef walked over and put her hand on Marianas shoulder to see if she was feeling better. Stef left her hand on Marianas shoulder for a few seconds and it made the girl melt. That single gesture helped Mariana realize what was off. She just had to figure out how to ask for it.

She was ready for bed and Lena had already been by to say goodnight. Mariana waited a few minutes and then got out of bed and headed to her moms knocked quietly and when they invited her in, she looked them in the eyes, and told them that she had figured out why she had been feeling off. She was desperately craving physical contact from her moms. So with a look of genuine longing she stood in front of her moms and asked if she could have a hug from each of them. Of course Stef and Lena obliged her. They even went one step further and wrapped their daughter in a momma sandwich. Mariana stood in the center of the hug and realized it was what she had been needing all day. She could feel herself coming back.


	13. Hiccup

It was a warm, almost perfect night. The breeze was light, almost still. Callie had been sitting in the backyard with Stef gently strumming on her guitar. She wasn't strumming anything in particular, just strumming. Breaking up the moment was the sound of Callie's phone. She had a text from Wyatt.

Wyatts text: _Hey Cal, me and some friends are at the beach, we have a bonfire. Ask the folks if you can join. I will have you back by curfew._

Callie asked "Um Stef, Wyatt and a few of his friends are at the beach. He asked if I want to come. He said he would have me back by curfew." Stef thought for a few minutes and went inside to talk to Lena.

After a few minutes of deliberation the moms decided that Callie could go. Lena drove Callie to the area of the beach that Wyatt and his friends like to hang out on and told Callie to be home by curfew. She gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek and said her goodbyes expecting to see the girl in a few hours.

Callie showed up at the bonfire and sat on the sand beside Wyatt. She was there for a moment when a bottle of beer was offered to her. She politely declined, she had tried beer before and didn't really like it and within moments was offered a swig of wine. Callie had never had wine before and decided that she would try a swig. What harm could one little swig do.

When the bottle made its way back to her, she took another swig, she liked it. And another swig and another. Before she realized, she had downed about half the bottle. She was happy and very talkative. She had accidentally let go of many of her secrets and so the tipsy but not nearly as drunk Wyatt, took Callie away from the rest of the group. He tried to get her to relax knowing that she might say more but Callie was excited and wanted to go swimming in the ocean more then anything else at that moment. Just as Wyatt had thought he got her settled, she bolted up and ran for the water. She was having so much fun splashing and falling in the water that she didn't see Wyatt on his cell phone.

Wyatt called Stef and Lena. He knew that he and Callie were drunk and that he wasn't going to be driving anywhere that night. Fifteen minutes later Callie was making a sand castle when Lena put her hand on her drunk daughter. Callie locked eyes with Lena and started giggling. Lena sat down beside her and tried to get Callie to calm down a little. Stef was fuming at Callie and Lena decided to get out to get to Callie while Stef was parking the car. Lena really wanted to do damage control. Once Lena was able to get Callie settled in one spot by having her write words in the sand she looked to Wyatt to thank him for calling and to offer him a ride home. Stef had arrived beside her wife and echoed her wifes thanks.

Stef helped her daughter up and walked her to the car with Lena and Wyatt following closely behind. Once she had Callie in the car with her seat belt on she gave Callie a plastic bag and a bottle of water and shut the door. She was too mad to drive home. She looked at Lena and asked her to join her on a quick walk on the beach. Lena and Stef walked hand in hand while Stef took several deep breaths. She finally spoke to Lena after what seemed like several hours but was only a few minutes. "I can't believe she got drunk. Not just tipsy, but unable to control her actions drunk." Lena just looked at her wife and said "We can lecture her in the morning, but tonight we will have to let her sleep it off.

The moms got Wyatt home safely and were just about to take Callie upstairs when she threw her hand over her mouth and bolted to the kids upstairs bathroom. Lena followed behind while Stef locked up. Lena sat there holding Callies hair and rubbing her back. Lena put Callie to bed and left a bottle of water, some ibuprofen and a trashcan by the head of Callies bed.

The next morning Callie woke up with a killer headache and a bad case of hiccups. She felt so guilty about the events of the night before, well what she could remember of the night before. She went into the kitchen and was prepared for the lecture that was about to come.

The talk took about an hour and ended with Callie being grounded for three weeks and being on a forced break from unsupervised activities with Wyatt.

Callie had decided that she was so done drinking. Her moms were just happy that Wyatt had decided to call them that night to get them all home safe and sound.


	14. Callie and Jude

Callie had finished being grounded. She had been itching to get out of the house. She was feeling disconnected from her baby brother. He had been spending more and more time being independent. Judes independence made Callies heart both sing and cry. She was so happy that Jude had been adopted. It was the adoption that allowed him to be so free to feel okay to fail to know that there were more people that he could count on. She was sad though, as Judes wings got bigger his dependence on her dwindled.

She had gone to talk to her moms to see if she could take Jude out for the day. Her moms were okay with that. So Callie walked over to Judes room to see if he wanted to spend the day out with her. He was excited. He had missed his sister recently too.

Callie and Jude decided to map out a route of fun things they wanted to do and mapped out all the bus routes. They had decided to start at the mini golf course. Callie was shocked when Jude beat her legitimately. Gone were the days of Callie letting Jude win. After mini golf they went go karting. Jude was a little hesitant at first to drive his own car, so Callie drove with him the first time and then he went on his own the second time. After go karting Callie got a call from Lena. She just wanted to check in and see how the day was going. Jude let her know how excited he was.

After go karting was a bus trip to the movie theater. Jude got to pick the movie and the snacks and the seats. Callie was totally content to let him be the leader for the day. After the movie, Callie got a call from Stef. She was just finishing her shift and was wondering if her kids wanted a ride home from the movies. Callie and Jude looked at each other and decided that while the ride would be nice, they would get to spend more time with each other on the bus.

The bus ride home was great. Callie and Jude were sitting beside each other and listening to music from Callies ipod and telling stories and both feeling so safe and loved knowing that they never would have been able to do any of this with any other foster family. For that they were both truly grateful.

When the siblings arrived home they saw Lena and Stef cuddling on the couch watching a movie. Callie and Jude walked up to each of their moms and wrapped their arms in a hug. Then they switched so that they were able to hug both of their parents. They let go thanking their moms for all of their protection, guidance and love.

Both Callie and Jude went upstairs smiling and joking with each other about the events of the day.


	15. Jude's Night

In his life Jude hadn't had a lot to fear. Callie had spent her life seeing to that. The few times he did have something to fear he would share his fears with Callie. She knew how to soothe him and make it better.

Callie was spending the night at Roberts and Jude had been having a good day. He had a recurring bad dream every so often. He hadn't had it in a while. It usually came back when he was having a bad day or saw something that reminded him of that dream.

He woke up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. He knew why. He knew he had that dream again. He got out of bed and quietly walked to the girls room. He opened the door quietly and looked for his sister. He forgot that she was away for the night. Mariana turned over and saw him at the door and asked him if he was okay and if he wanted to sleep in her room that night. Jude just stared at her he was lost in his thoughts. When she couldn't get through to him she got up and hugged him. When that didn't work she went and got her mom. She had tried to wake Lena up but she wouldn't get up so she woke Stef. "Mom, Jude is standing at my bedroom door and he won't respond as to why. I can't get through to him. Can you try?"

Stef got out of bed and followed her daughter to the bedroom. What she found was Jude sitting beside the door on the floor of his sisters bedroom. Stef sat down beside Jude wrapped her arm around him and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. She started to wipe away his tears. She knew something was up but didn't know what. She just sat holding him, when he was ready to talk she would be here ready to listen. After about 30 minutes Jude looked at Stef and apologized for his current state. Stef was just about to tell him not to be sorry when Jude continued. "Every so often I have this dream. I'm watching what happened to Callie by Liam and I try and stop it. Only I get pushed to the ground. I keep trying to fight him but I cant. I don't know why I had the dream it usually only happens when I see something that reminds me of it or if I'm having a bad day." Stef dried away her sons tears and asked if he usually went to Callie when he had the dream. He nodded slowly.

Stef slowly picked up her son and ushered him into her room. She wanted Jude to be able to come to them when he had that dream. She tucked him into bed between her and her wife and wrapped her arm around him as he fell asleep. She knew that at least for this bad dream she had helped him through.


	16. Family Day Out

Stef and Lena had been thinking about taking the kids out for a while. This one Saturday all of the kids were free and that was a rarity.

They had asked the kids for suggestions. Brandon suggested the beach, Callie suggested a movie, Jesus suggested a family soccer game at the park, Jude suggested the museum. Mariana was the only one who hadn't immediately shouted out a suggestion. She was thinking when Stef asked her. She blurted out amusement park. She couldn't believe she had said that, she didn't really like amusement parks. Roller coasters made her feel sick and she got bored with most of the games.

Considering the options, the moms decided on the amusement park. Jude was so excited. He had never been to an amusement park before.

The family piled into the cars and headed out. Once they got into the park and started seeing all of the rides available Jude started to get a little scared. The kids and Stef ran off to the new roller coaster excited to get to try it as Jude, Mariana and Lena hung back. Lena offered to take the two kids to a magic show playing near by but Callie came running back. She wanted to experience the ride with Jude. He took a deep breath and then grabbed Callie's hand and they started towards the line where their brothers and mother had been waiting.

As the line got closer Jude's fear grew. When they got to the front of the line he decided that he didn't want to ride the coaster but wanted Callie to. He got in the ride but didn't sit down. He immediately got off the other side and told Callie to stay. He would go stand with Lena.

Lena, Mariana and Jude stood by the exit to wait for their riders, the kids and Stef came towards them smiling and laughing. They said that they had missed Jude on the ride but understood that he wasn't ready.

Towards the end of the day the kids only had a few more rides left. Almost the whole day Jude had been eyeing a wooden coaster. Jesus saw Jude looking at the coaster and overheard some kids talking about that coaster as a baby coaster because it had no upside downs or super fast turns. Jesus grabbed Jude's hand and walked him over to the coaster line. While in line Jesus told his brother that it is okay if Jude decided he isn't ready for this coaster either. He also told Jude that this was the very same coaster that he rode the first time he went to an amusement park with their moms. He passed on the same information that Stef had said to him all those years earlier. You've been living a life that is a roller coaster, at least this one you can see the start and finish. If you are scared now, take a deep breath, close your eyes and just listen to the coaster. You will find that you might get lost in the coaster and that might make it better.

At the front of the line Jude got into the car first only this time he sat down. Jesus sat down beside him and held his hand. The rest of the family waited for them to exit, and smiled as Jude came towards them beaming. He couldn't wait to come back to the park next time so he could try the other coasters.


End file.
